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Category Archives: Must see

Our favorite annual local music experience will return to Los Angeles on October 10th through the 12th. Filter Magazine‘s Culture Collide is a music festival that brings over 70 bands and artists from all over the world to play in Echo Park venues for three days. You really never know what you are going to discover. It is like an international buffet of delicious music for the soul.

Last year, we wrote that at the Culture Collide festival you get to listen to the sound of our collective heart beat. To get a sense of the eclectic mix of artists you can experience, look at the line up for a single stage on Saturday (Taix, front lounge):

You just went all around the world and that was just one day on one stage (there are eight venues within walking distance taking part in Culture Collide). With the wristband that only costs 30 bucks, you also gain access to the Comedy Collide mini-fest put on by the Upright Citizens Brigade and the artist panel discussions featuring Moby, Shepard Fairey, Dhani Harrison and industry heavyweights. As a special tip, do not miss the performance by Jared James Nichols on Friday night. He blew our socks off last year.

I will be there on Saturday. For 9 bucks, I will be talking to the comic book artists, asking questions, taking notes and attending the 4 panels of the day. 9 bucks? Well, if you are a student, you can get in for 6 bucks. OK, if you really want to do it on the cheap, and you want to check it out on Sunday, the museum and festival is free. As always, please use your savings to buy something from the artists to keep the scene alive.

Back to the panels on Saturday. At noon, the panel will be “DIY Comics- The ins and outs of creating & publishing your own comics” with Javier Hernandez, Alex Olivas, Eric Esquivel, Gabriel Gamboa and Crystal Gonzalez.

Then, at 1, the panel will be “Spandexed Latinos: Geometric Storytelling in Superhero Comics” with Professor Frederick Aldama presenting a more in-depth view of the comic form.

At 2, you will get to watch some wild animated short films, “The Jim Lujan Cartoon Show.”

If that wasn’t enough, at 3 is “Bring on The Lucha Heroes: 60 Years of Mexican Masked Wrestlers in Comics” with Keith Rainville, Rafael Navarro, J. Gonzo, Dan Madigan and luchador Lestat.

I can’t make it on Sunday, but if I could, I would check out theLatina Power Roundtable at 1and three other amazing panels. Sunday (only) also has very cool crafts for the kids where they can make their own comics and superhero masks.

Sheezz Louise! They did it again. Erick Huerta writing for L.A. Taco has come up with another fantastic list of the Dia de Los Muertos/Day of the Dead things to do in the Los Angeles area. If you want to celebrate the holiday, there is bound to be something on the list that suits your taste.

Ready for some FUN? Bands from all over the world are going to converge in Echo Park on October 3 -6, 2012, and play their hearts out at Filter Magazine‘s Culture Collide. This local festival is a great way to discover new music and catch a listen to the sound of our collective heart beat. For 20 bucks, you get a wristband that grants you access to all the fun, exploration, and international camaraderie.

The festivities begin on Wednesday, October 3 with the Kick Off Party featuring DJs at Taix on Sunset for an eclectic night of music. The DJ’s include members of Montreal, School of Seven Bells, Penguin Prison (live DJ set with vocals), and others.

Where are these bands coming from, you ask? They are flying in from Brazil, Canada, Peru, United Kingdom, Hungary, Mexico, Thailand, Estonia, France, and about 15 other far out lands. Some of the bands are big stars in their home countries, but relatively unknown to us in the US.

Below is a map of the venues and the bands playing each day. Visit CultureCollide.com for more information.

We are overjoyed that Quetzal is back! Not only are they back playing in the local area, but Quetzal has a strong new album that will keep your toes a tappin’ and your mind a thinkin’. Quetzal’s latest album, Imaginaries, was be released on February 28th, 2012. This album blends the Veracruz traditional sounds of son jarocho with modern rock and R&B sounds to create a fusion that is very Los Angeles and features tracks in both English and Spanish.

If you haven’t heard Queztal before, you are in for a treat. You can sample four of the new tracks now from Imaginaries at SmithsonianMag.com. The available tracks are the title track “Imaginaries,” “Tragafuegos (Fire Breathers),” “Dreamers, Schemers,” and the beautiful “Todo lo que tengo (All That I Have). After you get a taste of these tracks, we are sure you will want to support Quetzal and buy the full album on iTunes or on Amazon. These Eastside artists are nourished by their music, but they need food to survive.

This album, Imaginaries, is the first release in association with Smithsonian Folkways Tradiciones/ Traditions, known for releasing culturally relevant music of the United States.

Smithsonian Folkways Recordings is the nonprofit record label of the Smithsonian Institution, the national museum of the United States. We are dedicated to supporting cultural diversity and increased understanding among peoples through the documentation, preservation, and dissemination of sound. We believe that musical and cultural diversity contributes to the vitality and quality of life throughout the world. Through the dissemination of audio recordings and educational materials we seek to strengthen people’s engagement with their own cultural heritage and to enhance their awareness and appreciation of the cultural heritage of others.

Our mission is the legacy of Moses Asch, who founded Folkways Records in 1948 to document “people’s music,” spoken word, instruction, and sounds from around the world. The Smithsonian acquired Folkways from the Asch estate in 1987, and Smithsonian Folkways Recordings has continued the Folkways commitment to cultural diversity, education, increased understanding, and lively engagement with the world of sound.

John Leguizamo’s back with the new show “Ghetto Klown” at the Montalbán Theater in Hollywood. This is Leguizamo‘s fifth stage show. He has appeared in movies like Carlito’s Way and Moulin Rouge, voiced Sid the giant sloth in Ice Age, and even had his own variety show on TV for awhile.

Leguizamo puts on a great show. Joke after joke, he feeds off the energy of the audience and takes them to some of his happiest and darkest moments. You can feel the bond he has with his audience who react to him divulging moments in life portrayed in such a raw manner. How many of us are capable of looking at ourselves so closely and then show others what we see?

In the late nineties, he was the first Latino to have a one-man show on Broadway. He is a very young pioneer — young enough to dance much of the way through a 2 1/2 hour show.

As a testament to the show, I expected to take a picture of the show for this post, but by the time I remembered about the picture, the show was over. The picture above is from the Ghetto Klown Facebook page.

The mission of Make Music Pasadena is to “encourage the community to Make Music where ever and how ever they can”. The ExperienceLA website announcing the event adds:

Along sidewalks and on street corners, in alleys and building lobbies, parks and courtyards, strains of Beethoven’s 5th blends with a Zeppelin guitar riff and a Coltrane saxophone solo as Pasadena becomes home to MAKE MUSIC PASADENA – A Fete de la Musique event.
On Saturday, June 21, 2008, the longest day of the year, Old Pasadena and the Playhouse District will become a musician’s playground.

A musicians playground…hmmm…I think it is time to dust off that guitar and practice knock, knock, knocking on Pasadena’s door. If not the guitar, bring the camera – the city is sure to be a great big photo op.

The third annual Lummis Day Festival will feature, music, puppet shows, dance, poetry, crafts and great food on June 1, 2008 from 10:30 am till 7:30 pm. The festival will take place in Sycamore Grove Park, located at 4900 N. Figueroa St. in Highland Park.

The festival gets its name from Charles Fletcher Lummis, the one of the first librarians of the City of Los Angeles, the first City Editor of the Los Angeles Times, founder of the Southwest Museum, and famous walker (he walked from Cincinnati to Los Angeles in 1884).

This year’s festival will feature a performance by the legendary artist Jackson Browne. Browne lived many years of his life in the area. A singer-songwriter known for his classic albums — For Everyman, Late for the Sky, and The Pretender — he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004. He also co-wrote the Eagles’ hit song “Take it Easy” with Glenn Frey. Jackson Browne is scheduled to perform at 6 pm.

At a time, when ticket prices for live entertainment are more expensive than ever, the New Los Angeles Theater Center will start off their “Spring on Spring” programming with a free event featuring dance, music, food, and art. The great thing about the full Spring on Spring series of over 15 events is that no single event is over 12 bucks. Even better, 50 bucks will buy a pass for all the events.

The free kick-off event, Fresh Paint, will be Friday, April 18, 2008 at 9 pm. This should be a fun night with a variety of performances. The night will feature music by Cita La Muñeca Rota, Ricardo Ochoa, and the rock cello player Semyon Kobialka. There will be krump dancing by Buckworld One. The Art adorning the walls will be from the famous Chicano artist GRONK & the pop artist William Deutsch and to round out the party spirit, D.J. Original Bozak will use his turntables to make you move.